Hammond Times, Volume 14, Number 210, Hammond, Lake County, 23 February 1921 — Page 8

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Prosperity means gcc.J business. Good business means cctir-e buying. Buying moves in a circle. It must begirt zsAlh yon and in t!i2 end it acmes bach to ycu. There are four factors ir. '.':e Cvcic cf bay.nr; the menufceiiirer, the jcbi . r, the retailer c.r.d the buyer ivho is Together, these fczrr factors cor.eiilr.iti the Public and i V: c manufacturer, jobber cr retailer is in a "separate" class enly so far as his even business is concerricd. fn every ciher relation of life he is one small individual in the

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Y.ov: and then you hear more or less talk about "eliminating the middleman." This "middleman" is the fellow, some folks say, who is a bier factor is keeping" prices "up' In at is, he adds to the cost of thincrs, unnecessarily. We're all interested in fair and reasonable prices. And if this '"middleman'' is the source of any of our discomforts, we ought to tend to him. But it might surprise you to know who this "middleman'' is. You are the middleman. A New Thought This isn't at all in line with what you have been thinking, of course. The popular idea is that the retailer or the jobber, or some other hazy and distant person is the ""middleman" a needless individual, who ought to be "stepped on." That, thin I: a minute. What IS a "'middleman?'' Ordinarily, the "middleman' is defined as any person or persons that stand between the producer and the ultimate buyer you. And the middleman's 'costs arc the costs that stand between the producer and you, the buyer. If we object to the "middleman," it is because we object to the cost of the service he renders if any. mmm M tin X Vi I! M i i. "ri

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What are these costs? They are the costs of transportation, handling, storage, merchandising, investment, credit, collections, delivery, etc. Let's see whether they are necessary. Like This You v;:r,t a certain article. You walk into a store and expect to find it there, waiting for von. Y on are disappointed and perhaps "peeved'' if it isn V. If it IS there, awaiting your convenience'! I D D L E M E N"' put it there and kept it there. The retailer is a middleman. He stands between you and the manufacturer or producer. You will admit, perhaps, that he is a NECESSARY middleman. If so, the clerks that work for him all of his employes are "middlemen,"' too. Perhaps you are one of them. Ought you to be eliminated? Railroad Men, Too It cost something to bring that article from the manufacturer or producer, to the dealer's shelves. A "middleman" brought it a railroad. The railroads are then "middlemen" standing between you and the manufacturer. Yes, but you say that the railroad is a nrcosary "middleman." You are right. But, if so, all of the railroad's employes are "middlemen," too. for they make it possible for the railroad to serve you. Shall we eliminate them? n A. V

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When you buv9 buying activity moves around the circle and comes back to you. When VjQU stop everything stops

Now the Jobber But, there's the jobber. How' about him? He's about the only one left and if we're going to find a middleman to eliminate, the jobber's about our last chance. Is the jobber necessary? What does HE do. Stated in the simplest way, the jobber assembles from various distant manufacturers stocks of their goods and holds these stocks at the instant disposal of retailers in his in m cd ia tc vicin ity. The jobber serves the retailer, just as the retailer serves you. The jobber doesn't add to the cost of transportation. He docs have a stock of goods immediately available for retailers retailers not financially able to carry the large investment that would otherwise be necessary if they were to buy all they needed, and then warehouse their reserve stocks. So, if YOU, the buyer, are to be well-served, someone MUST perform the jobber's function whether it be the retailer himself or the jobber. It would seem, then, that the jobber, too, is a NECESSARY "middleman." But, if he is a "middleman," so are all of his employes who help him do his job. And perhaps you are one of them! For You to Answer Thus, v-hen we talk of "eliminating" the "middleman," we are, in effect, talking about eliminating the railroad employes, the clerks, the bookkeepers, the carters, the salesmen, the traveling men, salaried executives good and useful citizens in activities without number.

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great Public, affected by the same living conditions that af fect you. Outside his own business ha IS you x BUYER. He joins with you, therefore, in starting the buying IMPULSE that sweeps around the Circle. He, like you, buys the necessities and comforts of life from a retailer who bays from a jobber who buys from a manufacturer ALL OF WHOM must buy from the Public (you) the time, skill, knowledge, materials, etc., that the Public has to SELL. When YOU bay, ALL bay when YOU stop, ALL

Middleman?

Do we WANT to eliminate them and what they do? YOU answer it! Cait Be Dodged . It COSTS something to bring desired article from another point, and put in where you want it when you want it. You can't escape this cost and a reasonable profit no matter how you work it. And this cost is the "middleman's cost and profit. An ExperimeM You hear that apples are a lot cheaper out in the country than at your store, or at market. Very well. Go to the country and get them at the lower price. Then you have become the middleman and paid yourself the cost of "middlemanning." You have eliminated one middleman but you have substituted another. Why? Because the middlemen's work had to be done. Your time is worth something and it costs you something to go to the country and come back. You are not selling your time or transportation at cost. If you were performing the service for someone else, you would add a profit just as any middleman does. And if you don't add a profit, even when you are dealing with yourself, you are in a losing business and had better spend vour time doing SOMETHING ELSE at which you CAN earn a profit. Here the Way No! The real answer to whatever troubles may exist isn't in eliminating anything. The things that would help are: A more complete understanding of our mutual dependence courage, faith and action!

The great public makes its own prosperity. And BUYING is the very foundation of it all. What we need is BUYING starting where it MUST Start with the PUBLIC with you and me. You and I must buy from the retailer. He will then buy from the jobber the jobber from the manufacturer and the Circle of Buying is complete for all of these must then buy from you and me the things WrE have to sell.

How Low? Prices have been high but so have wages. Many prices have been TOO high. They may not, in many cases, have been justified. If so, these evils, like the turbulent conditions which gave rise to them in the last few years are ALSO of the past. Prices are lower now. They are fairer. It's difficult to say how much lower or how much fairer they should or can be. Who can judge THAT? We know this : If by insisting by withholding our purchase we force prices down too far, wages must and will follow them down. If prices seem reasonably fair now, as they do, let's BUY. Let's set real prosperity in motion. Let's make the Circle of Buying hum ;cach of us assuring his own personal welfare and prosperity by assuring the prosperity of all! If business today isn't just what we'd like it to be, we can improve it as much and as fast as we please. By buying, wisely and prudently NOW, the things we need and want !

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